By Swathi Thiyagarajan
Highlights:
Dopamine's reward system
Jimmy's addiction story (from experimentation to addiction, the consequences of heroin, and the withdrawal process)
Resources
Introduction
Remember that feeling you get when the beat drops in your favorite song? Or maybe that
time when you stayed up all night studying for a difficult exam and you ended up passing?
And remember that best feeling of all (personally) when you get to pet your dog after a long
day of school and work? Dopamine is the reason we get to feel that rush of happiness and
excitement. Whenever we do any of the activities like eating our favorite food or listening to
our favorite song, our brain releases dopamine. In effect, the brain associates those
activities with pleasure and creates a reward system- which is why we feel that rush of
happiness. Now, the use of drugs can also activate that reward system, resulting in the need
to feel that dopamine high constantly- which is known as addiction. Around 38% of the
population experienced a substance addiction. On top of that, addiction among teens who
vape is also becoming a serious issue today. But how can we people get so easily addicted
to drugs?
The Beginning Addiction Process
For a better understanding of this complex topic, let's discuss Jimmy’s imaginary
scenario. Jimmy is experiencing depression and a lot of stress during his college years. In a
way to temporarily escape from his life, he tries to find a way to feel some sort of dopamine.
Jimmy’s roommate, Andy, thought it would be a good idea to get Jimmy into drugs just like
him. Because of peer pressure, Jimmy decided to give it a try and experiment with heroin.
Jimmy thought it would be a one-time thing, and that he wouldn’t get addicted. However,
Jimmy began to use heroin more and more often. Drugs like heroin have a bigger impact on
the brain’s dopamine reward system than the body's natural dopamine does. Because of
that, Jimmy begins to lose pleasure in his normal comfort activities and he only relies on
drugs to give him that dopamine. From only wanting it to be a one-time thing to temporarily
escape from his life, Jimmy is now reliant and addicted to heroin. Consequently, he became
even more sensitive to his previous feelings of depression and stress. When he tried to
become sober, he couldn’t stand the withdrawal process and used heroin again to escape
from that pain. It was a constant battle for Jimmy.
In the image above, you can see how the use of drugs can affect one’s brain. The yellow in
the left-most brain represents the brain activity in the brain. In comparison, you can see how
a person’s brain is affected by drug addiction. There is an alarming lack of brain activity in
the middle brain. However, with the stop of using the drug, the brain can recover from drug
addiction.
The Withdrawal Process
Because Jimmy had become addicted to heroin, the brain depended on heroin as dopamine
rather than its natural levels. Therefore, when Jimmy went to rehab, becoming sober was a
painful process for him since his body is not used to the abrupt stop of the drugs. His brain
had adapted to this stop of drugs by producing lower levels of dopamine- leading to anxiety
and depression. Here were some of Jimmy’s symptoms from withdrawal:
● Restlessness
● Muscle pain
● Bone pain
● Insomnia
● Diarrhea
● nausea/vomiting
● hot/cold flashes
Jimmy’s withdrawal symptoms lasted for weeks during his medical detox. But he was able to
recover and is now 3 months sober. He still has cravings, but he goes to group therapy
sessions to help avoid them.
Conclusion
Remember, addiction is a disease. If you have a loved one that is experiencing addiction, be
there for them and help them get through it. Avoid making them feel guilty about it; instead,
get them professional help by taking them to rehab, AA (Alcohol Anonymous) meetings, or
even call SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at
1-800-662-4357. For more resources, visit these websites: